Annual Elections for SOM Alumni Association Board of Directors

Online ballots for this year's Yale SOM Alumni Association board of directors election were sent in early March to all alumni for whom the school has an active email address. Voting ends on March 31. Election results will be shared with the alumni community at large at the Annual General Meeting of the SOMAA in New Haven on Friday, April 13, 2007, and in the next issue of the Alumni Newsletter.

Each year, each member of the SOM alumni community has the opportunity to vote for representatives to the 20-member board of directors of the SOMAA. Board members serve three-year terms and commit to participating in quarterly meetings, and work actively between meetings on SOMAA committees, projects, and initiatives.

SOMAA exists to be a voice for alumni and the school, and to promote a lifelong community of personal, professional, and intellectual connections among alumni and to SOM. SOMAA works to strengthen connections within the Yale community, in local communities, across management fields, and across sectors. New initiatives include working with the school to develop a more robust virtual SOM community.

Candidates are selected from a pool of nominees representing diverse class years, geographic regions, sectors, fields, and perspectives. "Nominations have been particularly robust this year," reported Bo Hopkins '86, chair of the nominations committee. "Dean Podolny's efforts to reach out to and inform alumni about the new curriculum, the excitement surrounding the news of the expanded campus, and a more collaborative approach between the Office of Alumni Relations and SOMAA have all contributed to generate new levels of enthusiasm among alumni leaders to become more involved with SOM. SOMAA is just one representation of that interest," he concluded.

"For the seven open slots in the board, we expect to field a slate of exceptionally interesting candidates this year," says Damon Danielson '86, president-elect of SOMAA. "This is a 'hands-on' board that proactively engages all stakeholders. Electing alumni leadership is an important way for alumni to be involved. Thanks for making the effort to vote."